The Brian Sucre junction is located in a central location that connects several of the outer communities of Mahdia. Once here, the main road leads to central Mahdia, one road takes you to ‘Blackwater’, one takes you to El Paso and another takes you to Micobie.

Smackdab in the middle of this junction is ‘Mandy’ and her one-stop shop.

“I’m living in Mahdia for almost 24 years and I’ve been out here, at the junction, for about 15 years,” Amanda Solomon, called Mandy, related.

Mandy initially came to the mining region to get involved in mining herself, but after trekking the back dams for a few years she decided to branch out and establish her business.

She created this business, her one-stop shop, in a central location where she could meet the miners going in and out of the mining lands and travelling to and from the communities. And what she offers is everything from home-cooked meals to packaged goods and supplies.

At this space, you can also swing by to catch a cricket match on the television or just chill at the hangout spot (don’t worry, she’ll cater for your lime too!).

Solomon explained that the shop usually opens at about 06:00 hours, though she wakes up before that to prepare breakfast to sell to travellers. By 19:00 hours, she’s back in bed getting her rest to start this all over again the next day, every day of the week.

However, there are times when business would be hectic and that would require her to be up and about a bit more. “If you have like a fest or some kind of activity like Guinness in the street or so, you would find that people would come out here and so,” Mandy said.

Currently, however, she shared that miners are moving further away in search of new lands to mine on and that has put a bit of strain on her business.

“We depend on mining to bring the money,” she said, hastened to add that she persists just so that she remains up-to-date with her bills and expenses.

Aside from her business pursuits, Mandy is also a councillor on the recently instituted town council.

“Mahdia became a town and that is very nice, so I decided to give back some of my time to the people that support me for all of the years,” the businesswoman said while explaining what prompted her to get involved in local governance.

“Since I came to Mahdia I was able to achieve many things in my life business-wise and then I get involved into the council and now I decide to give back,” she said.